48 Laws of Power Quotes

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less.

Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life’s artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.

Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

Many a serious thinker has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.

Never Appear Too Perfect

Always Say Less Than Necessary

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

The human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will tun wild and cause you grief.

Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.

Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.

There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.

Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

Despise The Free Lunch

A person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.

When you show yourself to the world and display your talents, you naturally stir all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity.

You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Some people are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger.

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them.

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution.

Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses.

If you want to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is impudent or their offer ridiculous.